Composition

In 2007 Peter wrote a highly acclaimed large-scale work for the BBC Proms entitled, ‘He isarmoured without’ for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, musicians from Uzbekistan, the Coldstream Guards, 80 other brass players and solo trumpet and trombone (Torbjorn Hultmark and David Purser) in a staged performance. This was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society large-scale composition prize.

In January 2009 Bow-Wave opened the National Youth Orchestra’s Winter Tour, a new piece that was staged, played from memory, and included improvisation, the first time the NYO had presented such a piece in its main series. In July 2009 his opera ‘The End of the Line’ was premiered at Manchester Piccadilly Railway station by 150 performers from the Royal Northern College of Music.

Other recent works include To the shades of the departed, a saxophone concerto for Tim Garland and the Northern Sinfonia, for the Sage International Jazz Festival 2008, Earth and Stars for ensemble xx.jahrhundert, Vienna, (2006) celebrating 250 years since Mozart’s birth, and The Great Wheel, London Sinfonietta and musicians from Uzbekistan, Glasgow/ London 2003. In November 2008 Peter premiered The Zither with 50 strings at the Purcell Room with Matthew Barley and the Silk String Quartet, a quartet of Chinese instruments.

Further recent commissions include The Great Wheel, Parts 1, 2 and 3 London Sinfonietta and musicians from Uzbekistan, Glasgow/ London (2003), That man’s talking nonsense, (Stephen Gutman and Richard Benjafield) London (2003), Brief Encounter, National Opera Studio/ Southbank Sinfonia London (2004), Farewells take place in silence, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham (2004) the burden’d air, for ‘cello (Matthew Barley) and live electronics, (2006) at St Luke’s, LSO as part of the iF Festival which also saw Peter direct cho cho for Japanese ensemble Tozai, mixing traditional and modern instruments. In May 2007 he opened the Cologne Triennial Festival with a performance of Berio’s ‘Accordo’ for 4 wind orchestras.

From 1996-98 Peter held an appointment as Lecturer in Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London. He became freelance 1998-2003, combining his principal interests of composer, conductor and creative director and was co-Artistic Director (with Colin Riley) of iF festival of new music 2003-2006. Since 2003 he has been Professor, Head of Music Research, at Brunel University.
Other works have been commissioned by Norwich Festival, Ex Cathedra, Stephen Gutman, Richard Benjafield and Chris Brannick; Symphony Nova Scotia, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, (bcmg); The City of London Sinfonia, London Symphony Orchestra, Composer’s Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,The Guildhall Ensemble, the Royal Opera Houses’ ‘Garden Venture’ Gemini (several), Kathryn Lukas, Jane Manning, Matrix, Amphion String Quartet and Ronald Lumsden. Other projects include ‘…brew The Miles Davis Project’ at the ICA in 2008 where leading composers where invited to send ‘postcards from Miles Davis’ as a basis for improvisation.

He was delighted, in 2008, to be appointed ‘Artist-in-Association’ with bcmg. His own ensemble notes inégales includes leading players equally committed to improvisation as playing scored music. In September 2009 they presented a series of concerts at the Kings Place Festival in partnership with Sound and Music and a CD of Wiegold’s music for NMC Recordings will be released in Spring 2010. In spring 2010 he is conducting Northern Sinfonia as part of the Newcastle New Music: mini-festival of David Lang’s music.

Orchestra

The National Youth Orchestra's concert was breathtakingly good. As the semi-improvised fruit of 10 days' work, Bow-Wave was a remarkably successful evocation of the engine room of a big ship, moored in a harbour pullulating with life. Deploying plinks and whistles, thuds and scrapes and farts, the 163-member orchestra explored textures and colours with fine control, and even managed to give it dramatic shape.

Peter wrote this highly acclaimed large-scale work for the BBC Proms entitled, ‘He is armoured without’ for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, musicians from Uzbekistan, the Coldstream Guards, 80 other brass players and solo trumpet and trombone (Torbjorn Hultmark and David Purser) in a staged performance. This was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society large-scale composition prize.